👩‍🏫 The Power of Online Courses

John Meese -

If you ever need to learn how to replace pipes under your sink, create an origami Yoda, or bake vegan, gluten-free cupcakes then you have no need to worry—there’s a YouTube tutorial for that! YouTube has become the default do-it-yourself search engine because video recreates personal experience like no other medium, allowing creators to quickly and easily share their perspectives with high-quality video and audio.

Some people learn best by listening, some by watching, but with a video, you get a healthy dose of both. Then again, what do you do if the problem you need to solve is much larger than a DIY hack? What about when you need to understand the strategy behind launching a blog with an audience growth strategy, or the insides of the publishing industry so you can publish a bestselling book? That’s more than one short video can teach you, but that’s why we’ve created those solutions in the form of an online course.

The Rise and Rise of Online Courses

Online courses are the most effective way to teach-for-transformation online. Maybe it’s the video format or the blend of convenience and engagement, but for whatever reason people are buying more online courses year-after-year. In 2017, online courses made $46 billion and the most recent projections show “e-learning” collecting $325 billion by 2025.

If you’re not already doing so, you need to offer an online course of your own. Courses can establish your authority, serve your audience, and turn your platform into a revenue-generating business. Online courses allow you to take your expertise and focus it on one detailed solution, without having to shrink your expertise down all the way to a single podcast episode, YouTube video, or blog post.

Online courses allow you to teach transformational content at scale, so students can consume your content on their own schedule and ask questions as they arise. Authors like Seth Godin and Lewis Howes have created courses to teach content similar to what’s in their $10 books, but the courses sell for $100 or more. People pay that because they want personal instruction.

Create Your Own Course In A Day:

Here’s how to try this yourself:

  1. Get clear on one problem you could help your audience solve in less than one hour of training.
  2. Using that problem as your product focus, outline 3 - 5 short videos to walk through the solution you’d recommend.
  3. Record those videos on your phone, and upload them to a course platform like Teachable (which I recommend).
  4. Email your audience and let them know that your course is now available for sale, at just $100.